40

Oct. 26th: 2130 hours

"You can call off the search, Colonel. Major Houlihan has arrived." Father Mulcahy reported as he walked into the company clerk's office. Colonel Potter and Corporal Klinger, on the phone line, were on the process of trying to locate their missing head nurse. "They apparently had radiator trouble."

Relieved at the news, the men went outside to greet her. Major Houlihan was not in the best of moods. She was cold, dusty, tired and angry.

"Glad you finally made it back, Major." Colonel Potter said. "We were worried about you."

"Thank you, sir. But I would have been here sooner if this stupid sergeant had bothered to check the water in the radiator before we left Kimpo! We had to walk back and forth to a stream, carrying water in our helmets. Then we had to go at a snail's pace just to keep it from boiling over again. Men are so stupid!!" She informed them.

She refused Klinger's help as he started to lift her bags from the back of the jeep. "Out of my way, Corporal!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The man stepped back quickly.

Hearing the commotion, other people in the camp approached. Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt came over from the Swamp. Lieutenant MacAllister and Major Winchester walked out of her tent.

"Welcome back, Major." Sarabeth spoke to the other woman. "We were worried about you."

"Yeah, Margaret. We thought you had run away with some pilot or something." Hawkeye told her.

"Get lost, Pierce." Major Houlihan responded.

"We thought you were, Margaret." B J quipped.

"Men!" The major was indignant. "Colonel, I'll have my report ready for you in the morning. MacAllister, I want to see you in my quarters in 30 minutes. Bring the surgical reports and duty logs with you." Houlihan ordered.

"I'm going to get cleaned up. And there had better not be any stupid men hanging around the showers, either!" Angrily, she stalked to her tent.

"The smart ones better stay away, too." Pierce commented after the major had left the area.

"So much for the rest of our evening poetry session." Major Winchester uttered in complaint. The woman standing beside him grinned and shrugged. They moved towards the surgeon's tent.

Once inside, Sarabeth asked, "Charles, do you have a bottle of brandy that I may have? I'll replace it."

"Certainly. I thought you still had some Madetta brandy left, however."

"I do. But not enough. I have a feeling that Major Houlihan would like to get very drunk tonight."

"So you've appointed yourself the bartender for the evening?" He asked with amusement.

"Unless you want to volunteer for the job?" She teased.

"Not particularly. I am not a stupid man."

"That's probably a very wise decision." Sarabeth smiled at him.

Taking the keys from his pocket, the major opened his footlocker. He handed her a decanter and two glasses. "Please encourage her to throw rocks and not my crystal snifters." Winchester instructed.